CHAPTER 19: CHAPTER 18: STRATEGY IN PROGRESS

Purple Flower Street.

The building where the Flashman Studio used to reside.

Lin Qianxuan and Golden Mary stood at the hallway corner, gazing at each other.

Chen Long’Er is currently waiting in the room.

"Please help me," Lin Qianxuan said.

"Mr. Lin, what are you saying?" Golden Mary asked with some confusion.

"She is not an ordinary person, and neither am I," Lin Qianxuan said. "I arrived in Chao Li Country this time not only to accept your invitation to have some fun but also to take her home."

Just as Golden Mary was about to speak, Lin Qianxuan directly demonstrated it to her.

Lin Qianxuan poked a finger, leaving a two-centimeter hole in the wall.

The old, dilapidated wall was easier to poke than concrete ground, and the effect was more direct.

He then withdrew his finger and took out a tissue to wipe it.

White wall dust fell gently, with Golden Mary’s expression of stupefaction as the background.

Even though she had heard that people from Xuan Country were all skilled in kung fu, she wasn’t a fool; at least accomplishing this scene was impossible.

"Magic... magic trick?" Golden Mary asked in disbelief.

Lin Qianxuan reached out his hand, lightly stirred his mind, connecting with the power from deep within his bloodline, revealing faint red scale armor across his skin.

Golden Mary’s eyes widened significantly.

"Have you heard of the descendants of the dragon?" Lin Qianxuan asked.

"It’s actually true? People from Xuan Country really have the dragon’s bloodline? I always thought it was a legend!" Golden Mary said, dumbstruck.

"It’s real, but it doesn’t pass on genetically; it’s inherited through some sort of spiritual means, awakening randomly in anyone from Xuan Country," Lin Qianxuan followed his intuition and said, making it up on the spot. "She awakened her bloodline while abroad and is now being pursued. The enemy are also Transcendents. Mundane forces find it hard to stop them, so I need your help."

"Me?" Golden Mary pointed at herself, then said excitedly, "Could it be that I also..."

"Don’t misunderstand, you’re not a Transcendent. I just hope to gain monitoring information from you about the city. I need some time to activate the power within her. Before that, we cannot be disturbed, so please inform me in advance if there’s any unusual activity in the city," Lin Qianxuan said.

Golden Mary’s expression froze on her face, then she said, "I’m just an ordinary person..."

"We Transcendents have our own information channels. Miss Golden Mary, I know your achievements in information technology are extraordinary," Lin Qianxuan interrupted.

"Why do you trust me?" Golden Mary looked at Lin Qianxuan and asked, "What if I disclose your information to them?"

"First, it does you no good and could offend the Transcendent organization of Xuan Country. Most importantly, I believe we are friends," Lin Qianxuan said with a smile.

"Friends?" Golden Mary murmured, then clenched her fist and said, "Since you’re requesting like this, I’ll have to help. But let me make it clear first: I can only access a part of the information through the central monitoring network; there are many places not covered by this network, lacking surveillance, so I can’t guarantee full monitoring of Xugu City."

"That’s enough, thank you very much, Miss Jin," Lin Qianxuan said with a smile.

"Just call me Mary," Golden Mary also smiled.

Lin Qianxuan reached out his hand and shook hands with Golden Mary, solemnly saying, "I’ll remember this favor."

"Mr. Tentacle Monster, you’re so cheesy, saying such embarrassing things," Golden Mary said with a peculiar expression.

Lin Qianxuan was taken aback by this name, then the two of them shared a laugh and released each other’s hands.

...

After a while, Golden Mary left.

Lin Qianxuan watched her back, feeling a bit sentimental in his heart.

Golden Mary also has her own unhappy past.

Even though her father holds a high position, he wasn’t able to fully care for Golden Mary’s mother and her.

Golden Mary’s mother died as a result of a decision by her father, which brought retaliation from a terrorist organization of an enemy country.

Since then, there had been many estrangements between the father and daughter.

Golden Mary wanted to choose her own path in life, but her father hoped more that she would follow the path he arranged.

However, he ultimately cares about Golden Mary’s own thoughts.

Like now, when she is still staying in the Flashman Studio, which says it all.

Golden Mary might know something too but doesn’t know what attitude to use to face her father. Thus, they formed this kind of strange way of getting along.

Caring for each other, minding each other, yet communicating very little.

Lin Qianxuan used both hard and soft means in the game to acquire this information.

But a large part of it was obtained after killing Takamaki Qingji, using his status as a Transcendent.

He even communicated with that Mr. Jin in the game.

Unfortunately, though the counterpart holds a high status, he’s still just an ordinary person with not much help to offer.

The sound of an engine whirred as Golden Mary drove away.

Lin Qianxuan turned and headed toward the room not far away.

Upon opening the door, Lin Qianxuan saw Chen Long’Er sitting in a chair, appearing somewhat nervous.

She seemed worried Lin Qianxuan would leave and not return.

Lin Qianxuan stepped forward and patted her on the head.

Chen Long’Er leaned onto Lin Qianxuan’s shoulder.

She used to tolerate solitude and loneliness, but that was when she had no one to rely on.

After Lin Qianxuan appeared, she became dependent, and couldn’t bear to let go.

After leaning on Lin Qianxuan for a while, Chen Long’Er fell into a deep sleep as fatigue set in.

This was different from the scenario in the game.

In the game, Lin Qianxuan first had Chen Long’Er take a bath, and then let her rest.

But at this moment, Lin Qianxuan didn’t have the heart to wake her.

Lin Qianxuan tried a bit and picked Chen Long’Er up easily.

She wasn’t light, weighing over two hundred pounds or so.

However, considering the power she possessed, it seemed she was a bit too frail.

Lin Qianxuan placed Chen Long’Er on the bed, letting her sleep in a position where she could stretch out comfortably.

However, Chen Long’Er still held onto his left hand, not letting go.

Lin Qianxuan allowed her to hold it, and he also gently grasped her hand in return, hoping to give her a bit more sense of security.

Chen Long’Er’s palm had a strange horny layer, and the back of her hand was smooth with scales, her claws exceedingly sharp, Lin Qianxuan thought that even ordinary steel might not compare.

Holding this hand was not a comfortable feeling.

Chen Long’Er’s grip was quite strong, and if Lin Qianxuan hadn’t shared part of her talent, his hand might have been swollen from her grip by now.

Speaking of which, Lin Qianxuan remembered that the last time he held hands with a girl like this, it must have been back when he was at the orphanage.

He was only thirteen years old then.

The girl was the same age as him.

They grew up together, calling each other buddies.

Sadly, they eventually went their separate ways.

He wondered how she was doing now.

Lin Qianxuan watched Chen Long’Er sleep for a while and took out his phone to snap a picture of her.

If everything goes well, this photo should occasionally be taken out in the future as a memory.

Then, Lin Qianxuan quietly sat down. He had intended to read a novel, but his mind was too scattered to focus.

He could only put away his phone, lean against the bed, hold Chen Long’Er’s hand, and quietly gaze at the scenery outside the window not far away.

Lin Qianxuan thought he wouldn’t be able to handle all of this, but after truly experiencing it, he found that even without having gone through everything in the game, as long as he really connected with Chen Long’Er, he would inevitably take this step.

Perhaps he was never one to be content with an ordinary life.

Always thinking that life’s not meant to be spent idly without achievements, wanting to stir things up a bit, to feel his life ignite.

Lin Qianxuan turned back, looking at Chen Long’Er curled up asleep on the bed, gently smiling, and brushed away the strands of hair falling on her face.

"Don’t be afraid, I’m here, I won’t leave," murmured Lin Qianxuan.

Not knowing if he was saying this for Chen Long’Er’s sake or his own.

Time flowed by peacefully, and suddenly there came a moment when Lin Qianxuan and Chen Long’Er’s open eyes met.

She seemed to have been awake for a while.

"Awake?" Lin Qianxuan asked.

Chen Long’Er nodded slightly.

"Want something to eat? I’ll make it for you. Mary also brought some ingredients over earlier," said Lin Qianxuan.

Chen Long’Er looked at Lin Qianxuan, quietly nodded.

"Then go take a bath first, it will feel better," Lin Qianxuan suggested.

With that, he slowly got up and released the tight grip of hands with Chen Long’Er.

There was a hint of reluctance in Chen Long’Er’s eyes, but she didn’t refuse.

She wouldn’t inconvenience those who were kind to her because of her own emotions.

Lin Qianxuan went to the kitchen to start washing the pot and cooking.

Speaking of which, after sharing Chen Long’Er’s talent, it seemed his digestion ability and such had improved, and now he was already feeling hungry.

When washing the pot, Lin Qianxuan’s hand touched the water from the tap, and with a certain feeling, he slightly clenched his hand.

The water in his palm surprisingly followed his intention, taking the shape of a small animal.

Lin Qianxuan attempted to transform it into a water arrow and shot it into the void.

With a lift of his hand, the water arrow flew out, shattering in the air a hundred meters away.

Although he only acquired about forty percent of Chen Long’Er’s bloodline talent, it was already far beyond ordinary human strength.

Lin Qianxuan tried a little and then stopped using the ability casually.

After all, it would be troublesome if discovered.

Very soon, Chen Long’Er finished her bath.

She wanted to help, and Lin Qianxuan did not refuse.

Perhaps because of past similar experiences, she was quite adept.

Soon, Lin Qianxuan prepared three dishes and one soup.

Two meat dishes, one vegetable dish, and an egg drop soup.

The taste of the dishes couldn’t be considered excellent, but Lin Qianxuan and Chen Long’Er both enjoyed their meal happily.

The two of them cleared every bit of the meal.

After finishing the meal, Lin Qianxuan wiped the oil stain from the corner of Chen Long’Er’s mouth and then said, "Let me tie your hair up, it’s too messy like this."

Chen Long’Er just nodded.

Lin Qianxuan took out a pre-prepared hair tie, and simply tied Chen Long’Er’s long hair into a high ponytail.

This technique was also learned back when he was at the orphanage.

The practice subject was that "buddy" of his.

After tying Chen Long’Er’s hair, she seemed much more spirited.

Lin Qianxuan opened his backpack, which had magic props and some other miscellaneous stuff, most importantly, a common version basic Mystic Text textbook.

Hesitating for a moment, Lin Qianxuan followed his heart, bypassing the flashy things and picked up the textbook directly.

Compared to other things, this was what Chen Long’Er wanted most right now.

Although it felt a bit like skipping strategy, Lin Qianxuan didn’t want to play too many games at this moment, he just wanted to exchange a sincere heart for another.

"This is a book for learning Mystic Text, I’ll teach you to speak Mystic Text," Lin Qianxuan said.

Chen Long’Er’s eyes lit up, nodding vigorously.

Lin Qianxuan smiled slightly, and turned to the first page of the textbook.